1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electron-emitting device, and an image display apparatus provided with a plurality of the devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
A surface-conduction type of an electron-emitting device uses a phenomenon that an electron is emitted when an electric current is passed through an electroconductive film formed on an insulating substrate in parallel to the film plane.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-352699 discloses the surface-conduction type of the electron-emitting device having a structure of inhibiting an abnormally large current from flowing when an electric discharge has occurred, by dividing the electroconductive film into a plurality of electroconductive films and thereby increasing an electric resistance of each of the electroconductive films.
However, a recent image display apparatus is required to show a performance of stably displaying an image with higher definition for a long period of time. For this reason, in a display to which the electron-emitting device is applied, the electron-emitting device is desired to show high convergence and excellent stability for a long period of time. In an image display apparatus in which a display pixel corresponds to an electron-emitting device in a one-to-one relationship, the fluctuation of an electric current in each of the electron-emitting devices causes variations of brightness among pixels, so that the electron-emitting device needs to be more uniform and stable.